Jun 24, 2013, 1:05pm EDT Sneak peek: Neighborhood Market gears up for Downtown South opening

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The Walmart Neighborhood Market in the Downtown South district is gearing up for a June 26 opening.

Anjali Fluker Senior Staff Writer- Orlando Business Journal Email | Twitter | Google+

Residents and businesses in the Downtown South district close to SoDo Orlando have been waiting for years to see what’s to become of the former 30-year-old-plus at the corner of Michigan and Orange Avenue.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and landlord Pineloch Management Corp. have been working together on at Southside shopping center since 2011, when a lease deal was first in discussions. Wal-Mart Stores had proposed demolishing the long-shuttered, 60,000-square-foot Albertsons that anchored the project and rebuilding it into a 48,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market concept — one that would compete directly with a neighboring in the same center.

The lease was signed and construction began last summer, making way for a larger than usual Neighborhood Market, but allowing for things like wider aisles and more choices — such as a separate area just for gluten-free products and expanded bins, cookware and glassware selections. The new store, set to open on June 26, is just one of several new Walmart stores debuting in Central this year, including a former SaveRite grocery store being renovated in southeast Orlando near Orlando International Airport.

“This is a new prototype for us,” said store manager Michael Raybuck, who has run eight Central Florida stores for Walmart in the last 13 years. “We don’t really know for sure yet, but I think we’re going to attract a very diverse group of shoppers. We’ve already had 100-200 people come to the door every day even though there’s a sign on the building saying when we open.”

The overall Market at Southside project involved renovating and redeveloping the 200,000- square-foot shopping center and bringing in several new and refurbished tenants, including Applebee’s and Dominos. Pineloch was among the first commercial landlords to reinvest in existing property, expecting more traffic when the SunRail commuter rail station near Orlando Regional Medical Center opens in May 2014. Orlando Health also is gearing up for SunRail in Downtown South, as is the existing Amtrak station.

Check out the slideshow of the Walmart Neighborhood Market coming this week to Downtown South.